Chapter 6
Chapter six
Cole
Grace was a beautiful disaster.
This Ben guy was a fucker. He’d broken her and I wanted to break him.
At least she thought she was broken. She wasn’t though.
I saw her. Even if she couldn’t see it I could.
Grace was strong, determined, and brilliant, she’d bounce back.
She just needed someone to remind her how amazing she was and she’d be back, bigger and better than ever.
And if I got to be the lucky bastard to help her, sign me up.
“It’s okay, sweetheart, let it all out,” I consoled her as she shook in my arms.
The blanket slid from her shoulders, and I tugged her even closer. I could feel her tears through my shirt, and I wanted to punch someone.
Grace tried to wriggle out of my hold, but I refused to let go. She fit so perfectly in my arms. With her head resting on my chest and her arms banded around my waist, anchoring me to her like she was afraid I was going to run. If only she knew. This woman had me abandoning all my rules.
When she sniffed, I picked her up, surprised when her legs wrapped around my waist. I was trying to be respectful, but the semi I’d been sporting ever since she’d stepped out of her car looking like all my cowgirl fantasies in her tiny denim shorts, was unavoidable.
Grace, though, didn’t seem to care or if she did, she didn’t say anything.
Instead, she nuzzled against my neck, the warmth from her breath tickling me as I carried her over the threshold and through my front door.
I dropped down on my couch and settled Grace in my lap. When she went to climb off, I held tight.
“Stay,” I practically growled, and all the fight left her.
I pulled a patchwork throw rug from the back of the couch, draped it over her shoulders, and waited until her tears dried and her breathing had evened out before I tried again.
“You deserve better than them, Grace.”
“Maybe,” she mumbled.
“Definitely,” I corrected, placing a soft kiss on her forehead.
After twenty minutes in my arms, Grace rocked back and wiped her eyes. Damn, this woman was stunning. Even with red-rimmed eyes, her hair mussed, and a broken heart, she was still the most beautiful, most real woman I’d ever met.
“Mind if I use your bathroom?” Grace asked as she climbed out of my lap leaving me feeling more than a little lost.
“Down the hall. Third door on the right,” I pointed out, directing her to the main bathroom and away from the one off my bedroom.
There was no way I was letting her in there.
Grace was a good girl. She didn’t need to see the pile of dirty laundry kicked in the corner and I could almost guarantee I hadn’t put the toilet seat down.
“Be right back,” Grace replied, flashing me a smile that warmed my heart.
The woman was something else. She’d just poured her heart out and laid all her dirty laundry at her feet, yet when she smiled, she was filled with life and light.
While Grace was out of the room, I cleaned up like someone had lit my ass on fire. I picked up the magazines, took the empty glasses to the kitchen, and straightened the cushions. I was kneeling by the fire when Grace appeared looking refreshed and put back together.
“Better?” I asked, reaching for the matches.
“Yeah. I’m sorry about all of that.”
“Nothing to be sorry for. I asked and you needed to get it out,” I offered, striking the match and focusing on getting the fire going.
Once the flames danced around the logs, I stood up, ignoring the cracking sound my knees made, and looked at Grace. She was hovering by the door, with her arms folded across her chest looking unsure.
“I should go,” she suggested, and I’d never heard anything I wanted less.
“Or …”
“Or?”
“Or you could stay?” I tossed out knowing the last thing in the world I wanted her to do was leave.
“I could. But wouldn’t I be in your way?”
“Not at all.”
“Come on, Cole. I’m sure you had plans for tonight that didn’t involve drying a strange girl's tears,” Grace scoffed.
“Sweetheart,” I started as I moved toward her. “My plans tonight included finishing my beer, washing the dishes, and then lying on the couch watching a movie.”
“Really?”
“Look around you. This isn’t exactly entertainment central,” I replied, hating that I sounded bitter.
“Oh.”
“That came out wrong. Sorry. Don’t get me wrong, there’s not much to do out here, but that’s what I like about it. The slower pace. The quiet. The peace. I’ve lived through enough drama and fireworks to last a lifetime. This is perfect for me,” I tried to explain.
“Are you sure you want me to stay?” Grace asked, and I knew she wasn’t going anywhere.
“One hundred percent.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“On one condition.”
“Done.”
“You don’t even know what it is!” Grace laughed, and I knew my decision was final. I was never letting her go.
“Doesn’t matter. Anything you want, it’s yours,” I promised, knowing I’d never be like jackass Ben and let her down. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever.
Grace’s eyes went dark, and I would’ve given everything I had to know what just went through her mind. “I’m washing.”
What? Huh? “Washing?”
“I hate drying. I’ll wash, you’re drying. Which way is the kitchen?” Grace asked, resting her hand on her hip and popping it out to the side.
I couldn’t believe this was happening. Grace was washing my dishes, wiping my counters, and chatting away the whole time. Gone was the sad, teary version of the woman who fell apart in my arms, replaced by an overly bubbly woman who asked a million and one questions about life on the ranch.
I hung the damp towel on the hook and turned to face Grace. “Coffee?” I offered, grabbing a mug from the cupboard.
“No thanks. If I have one I’ll be awake all night,” Grace replied as she jumped onto the stool at the kitchen counter.
I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop me from saying something dumb. I quickly made myself a cup before we headed back into the living area.
“I really should get going,” Grace repeated half-heartedly. We both knew she didn’t want to go, and I didn’t want her to go anywhere, but social graces had us saying all the right things.
“Sit your sexy ass down and choose a movie,” I replied as I dropped into the couch and handed her the remote.
Grace’s cheeks turned the most adorable shade of pink, and I found myself wondering how low the blush went.
Pretending she was unaffected, Grace shook her head and sat on the opposite end of the couch.
That wouldn’t do. I reached down and grabbed her ankles, swinging her around so her feet were in my lap.
Grace squealed, then giggled and my dick hardened. “What are you doing?”
“Admiring your boots,” I answered quickly, proud of how well I’d recovered.
“Yeah, okay. I’ll pretend to believe you,” Grace replied with a grin, and for the first time I got a glimpse of the woman behind the pain. This woman had the power to drop me to my knees and destroy me. The sparkle in her eyes had me wanting to find a way to keep it there forever.
“They’re nice boots.”
“They are,” Grace agreed.
“They’d look better on the floor,” I told her as I wriggled them off her feet and set them by the side of the couch. “There you go.”
“Much better.”
“Good. Get comfortable and choose a movie.”
“You’re really letting me pick?”
“Why not?”
“What if I pick some sappy romantic tear-jerker?” Grace asked, mischief in her eyes.
“What? You think I wouldn’t watch a romantic movie?
” I tossed back at her, knowing I’d sit through pretty much anything if it meant this night didn't have to end.
It was hard to believe that I was tired, grumpy, and ready for bed only a few hours earlier, and now I was finding ways to make the night never end.
Grace winked at me. “Guess we’re about to find out,” she teased as she made her selection, and the screen came to life.
I was right. I would’ve let her put on a damn birthing documentary and I wouldn’t have cared at all. I was too busy watching her to find out what was happening on the screen.
About half an hour later, Grace paused the movie. “What?” she asked, turning to face me.
“What?” I replied, confused.
“You’re not even watching. You’re sitting there staring at me like a weirdo.”
“Weirdo?”
“Creeper?”
“I prefer admirer,” I replied, feeling slightly embarrassed I’d been caught out.
“Nothing to admire,” Grace muttered under her breath as she tucked those long legs I couldn’t stop thinking about underneath her.
Grace mightn’t know me well, but I knew me, and I wasn’t about to sit here and listen to herself downplay how amazing she was. That Ben guy had fucked up and I could see her scars were still fresh. He’d been gutless and Grace had been collateral damage.
“Sweetheart,” I growled as I reached for her arm, my hand wrapping around her wrist.
“Cole,” she countered, refusing to look at me, her steely gaze fixed on where my hand touched her skin.
“Get your ass over here.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re too far away. Either you move closer, or I’ll move you where I want you.”
Grace’s mouth fell open and my mind went blank as images of all the ways I could fill it took over.
When she didn’t make an attempt to move but lifted her head in defiance, I was hit with something I hadn’t seen coming.
Something I couldn’t have imagined. Something I didn’t know was possible.
Grace was mine. She was it for me. I could see my future in her eyes and the fun we could have along the way.
Now all I had to do was convince her and hope my own demons didn’t scare her away.